Olooja Community Development Initiative

We are looking for an experienced Fundraiser with a successful track record and ambition to work in partnership with an exciting new collaboration. You will have an excellent understanding of the local voluntary sector and its challenges and up to date knowledge of funders’ priorities and emerging opportunities. A clear, confident communication style and ability to proactively build strong relationships with organisations, funders and wider stakeholders will be key. You will be able to contribute clear intelligence to determine how bids are prioritised, to manage competing priorities and respond quickly and decisively to new funding opportunities.

About Olooja Community Development Initiative

OCDI has worked in various capacities to collaborate as a social prescribing project under the name Olooja Enterprise, connecting people referred by friends and family for business and e-commerce solution support to give and share their time and skills to improve physical and collaborate where necessary.

We have diversified over the years, acting as a community development agency to co-produce new projects to address community needs.

It has developed local projects mainly in the Catford area such as The Digital E- Hub and projects like Enterprise Market Hub, Global Clean Water Initiative, NFT Lewisham Town Hall Project, Community Food Bank & Kids Snack Meals, Olooja Community Lottery and fundraising campaigns such as Let’s Warm together and Green Energy Banks to emerge later.

In 2022, Olooja Community Development Initiative becomes voluntary sector infrastructure partner, using a giving and sharing ethos to support and strengthen community organisations. We have since attracted increased funding and are developing new and existing projects to further the organisation’s impact, particularly across local giving, volunteering, infrastructure support and increasing individual’s health and wellbeing and reducing social isolation.

In 2021 we adopted the working name of Olooja Enterprise, which was formerly a project of the organisation but this brand has increasingly become the name which the organisation is known by, particularly during its work on the Covid Response Hub. The charity formally changed its legal name in March 2022 to Olooja. Community Initiative

How to apply

For an informal conversation about the role, please email , Community Sector Programme Manager on info@olooja.co.uk

To apply please send your CV (no more than 2 sides of A4) and a supporting statement (no more than 2 sides of A4) that demonstrates how your experience, skills and abilities meet the criteria set out in the Person Specification to recruitment before the deadline.

If you wish to apply for more than one of the Lewisham Fundraising and Development Manager posts please make separate applications for each post to the respective host organisation and specify in your applications that you are applying for more than one role.

● Closing Date - 9am Mon 9th May 5pm

● Interviews - w/c 16th May

Job Description

Job Title:

Olooja Community Development Initiative Fundraising Development Manager (Equalities)

Reporting to:

Community Enterprise & Vulnerability Sector Programme Manager

Hours:

25 hours per week

Term:

Smart Contract until 31 July 2025

OTE £15,600 + 2% Annual Members Royalty projects

Leave:

25 days annual leave (plus 8 bank holidays) and 2 annual volunteering days

Location: Hybrid

as required and flexible working

Purpose of Job

To fundraise for and with community organisations in focused on equalities services for race, disabilities and in future, gender reassignment and sexual orientation.

This will involve researching opportunities, writing grant applications and supporting organisations to improve their fundraising to deliver more and improved services for Our community.

A key aim is that equalities focused organisations will receive increased funding from trusts and foundations, regional and national government sources and donors and improve their resilience in a challenging financial climate.

Additionally the sector will be more sustainable and able to meet the needs of Our diverse population.

It will be vital to engage both established and grassroots organisations, working directly with underrepresented groups, building relationships, trust, and ensuring all have a voice.

The post holder will work closely in partnership with three other Lewisham Fundraising Development Managers who are hosted by other organisations and focusing respectively on geographical cold spots/areas of high deprivation, Sports and Arts.

Main responsibilities

Lead fundraising support for members with Equalities focused organisations

● Identify current baseline level of Equalities focused services and organisations within our community, outlining priorities for fundraising over the next 3 years and appropriate outputs

● Identify funding opportunities and proactively work with the voluntary sector to encourage and support bids in line with the identified Equalities priorities

● Lead large collaborative bids, write specific applications, and upskill organisations to develop their own funding strategies and bids.

● Maintain regular engagement activities to ensure that fundraising support for equalities organisations on our network is accessible and up to date; sharing funding opportunities, encouraging new ideas, delivering open workshops and surgeries.

● Work 1:1 with organisations to identify their development needs and barriers to fundraising and work with partners (e.g.Olooja.com Infrastructure) to overcome these

● Work with equalities organisations to increase their knowledge and understanding of funding opportunities, build their fundraising skills, ensuring funding bids are more targeted, better written and more likely to be successful.

● Contribute to monitoring and evaluation of the fundraising programme, maintain records of support actions taken, collect fundraising information from bids submitted

Encourage and support partnership working

● Work alongside other key equalities services to support and strengthen voluntary sector organisations in relation to fundraising (e.g. Our Infrastructure - Community Connections, Building Initiatives around Olooja Community Development Initiative’s ethos).

● Work closely with the other Fundraising Development Managers to maximise the impact of the work, avoid duplication and identify opportunities for further partnership working.

● Write regular reports and report progress as required to LL and wider stakeholders including for the Lewisham Main Grant Community Fundraiser Partnership Steering Group, to keep the sector informed on the progress made and encourage local organisations to engage.

● Identify opportunities for partnership registered with us, encouraging groups to collaborate and write bids together to maximise their chances of success.

Raise the profile of the Fundraiser’s support for the collective community

● Contribute to an up-to-date list of current and upcoming fundraising opportunities alongside the other Fundraisers and ensure this is widely shared

● Celebrate successful fundraising activities to promote and encourage take up and promote the impact of the Fundraising support service

● Write reports and report progress at local meetings to keep partners informed on the progress made and the way still to go to encourage local organisations to engage

● Develop additional relationships that open broader regional funding opportunities, strategic partnerships, skills’ development and knowledge acquisition across the equalities voluntary sector.

Team Responsibilities

● Build and share knowledge and intelligence:

a. within the team to increase the effectiveness of the organisation

b. with local partners via networks, communication and website to enable civil societies to develop and grow

● Establish new connections between organisations and individuals to access resources and contribute

● Build strong and effective local relationships across sectors

● Be a visible, active, positive and engaging presence within the community and at local events, activities and meetings. Attend stakeholders events and relevant local assemblies to represent the organisation

● Contribute and create regular communications content for our network

● Champion the role of local giving, contribution and civil society in across our network

● Develop cross-sector training and events programme for our network using local knowledge

● Collect and process data, carry out monitoring and evaluation of our impact

● Help other team members at times of increased workload and/or specific events in collaboration through discussion with the Local Giving Programme Manager

● Contribute to office organisation and administration responsibilities to ensure the effective running of the organisation and staff presence at the office premises

● Manage volunteers and admin support in the organisation to achieve the portfolio and charity’s aims and objectives

● Attend regular team meetings and supervision sessions as required

● Undertake training and development as required

● Contribute to writing grant applications for future projects and core work.

This is not an exhaustive list of tasks and you may be asked to undertake any other reasonable duties in connection with the role. Job descriptions are reviewed regularly and may be amended at any time in accordance with the needs of the organisation.

Person Specification

Relevant Experience

Essential

Desirable

Assessed

Demonstrable track record of successful fundraising experience and bid writing for a range of applications including over £50,000

Working on partnership bids with multiple organisations

Developing strategic funding plans

Co-production and partnership working, establishing effective relationships with individuals, voluntary organisations groups, stakeholders and statutory bodies

Building mutually beneficial relationships with funders

Advancing causes of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion.

Knowledge and understanding

Essential

Desirable

Local Voluntary and Community Sector, its priorities and needs

Understanding of the current context and priorities for Equalities, particularly in relation to ethnicity and disabilities

Regional and national funders and their current priorities around increasing funding for equalities organisations

Monitoring and evaluation of projects

Knowledge, Skills and abilities

Essential

Desirable

Assessed

Ability to work on own initiative and to manage and prioritise own workload alongside effective team work

Excellent interpersonal skills and persuasive communicator with a diversity of audiences (groups, 1-1s, presentations)

Working in collaboration and developing effective trusting relationships

Digital communications skills and use of social media

Excellent command of written and spoken English

Education / Qualifications

Essential

Desirable

Assessed

Fundraising qualifications

Personal qualities

Essential

Desirable

Assessed

Empathy, diplomacy, solutions focused,

Working Requirements

Essential

Desirable

Assessed

Working on occasional evenings and weekends as required

AFE Global Development Organogram - April 2022

Volunteering Programme Manager

Communications & Volunteering Coordinator

Time Bank Coordinator

Bank of Things Coordinator

Changing Minds Coordinator

Local Giving Programme Manager

Food Network Coordinator

Local Business Coordinator

Catford Food Projects Coordinator

CEO

Voluntary Sector Programme Manager

Fundraising Development Manager

Community Directory Coordinator

Digital Project Manager

Community Development Worker

Coordinator

Finance & Admin Coordinator